Invisible in the dark, a light refracting prism catches the tiniest spark of light and brightens the daily good.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Grants for "Great Ideas" for Oklahoma City

Volunteers participate in OKC Beautiful’s 2017 LitterBlitz. OKC Beautiful has been a mainstay in the Oklahoma City community’s public campaign against litter for nearly three decades. The Oklahoma City Community Foundation helped establish one of the organization’s first anti-litter campaigns with a 1989 Centennial Grant, commemorating the Land Run of 1889. [PHOTO PROVIDED]

Oklahoma City Community Foundation will launch a new program next week to foster ideas that will help the city grow as a community.

The OCCF's Great Idea Challenge will award five grants of $150,000 to $200,000 to fund initiatives that could effect long-term changes that benefit the city.

“We want to think about the next 50 years. What ideas are out there?” said Nancy Anthony, president of Oklahoma City Community Foundation. “It's risky, but at some point in time we have to look at how we get to the next frontier. We think it will be interesting to see what ideas are out there.”

The project commemorates the 1969 creation of the organization, inspired by John E. Kirkpatrick's idea to create a foundation for the community that would inspire others to give to charity. Currently, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation donates $35 million annually to about 1,500 programs, Anthony said.

“Collaboration is important. Sustainability is important. Community impact is important. Those are the criteria. It very well might be that three of the five are in health care,” she said. “We want to encourage people to participate. There aren't any bad ideas. One of our goals is to have a platform. It will be great to think about what we should be doing in OKC in the next 50 years.”

The Oklahoma City Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity, dedicated to improving the lives of people in the greater Oklahoma City area. As a community foundation, it brings together financial resources of individuals, families and businesses to support charitable needs in the community.